1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to games, including games where symbols are assigned to a player in the play of a game, particularly card games, and more particularly to side bet games which are played in conjunction with primary or underlying games such as poker, whether in a live game or in a video game.
2. Background of the Art
Games have been played throughout history in which symbols are assigned to players, with symbols of particular rank or relationship determining relative value or strength of a player's position within play of the game. Such games include games of chance including the use of instrumentalities such as dice, tiles, cards, spinning wheels and reels (as in slot machines). The advent of computers and associated monitors and their use within the gaming industry has provided essentially unlimited potential for the expansion of games into different instrumentalities as well as providing the older, traditional instrumentalities in a different format. For example, many of the games of chance played with physical instrumentalities are now played in video format, such games including Mah Jong, blackjack, craps, virtual reel slots, dominoes, poker, and games invented specifically for play on video screens.
Many versions of video draw poker have been around for years. Essentially, all electronic versions are played as follows, with minor variations: Five cards are dealt faceup to the player, the cards typically being randomly drawn from a single deck of fifty-two cards. The player selects which cards he or she likes, and discards the rest. To help in executing this selection, there are five "hold/cancel" buttons, one associated with each card position. The player selects a card to keep by pressing the hold/cancel button. If for some reason the player wants to change the card selection, he or she presses the hold/cancel button again. The player selects from zero cards to a maximum of five cards to be replaced in a five card originally dealt hand. The word "hold" is written on the video screen adjacent to (usually above) each selected card. The player discards the cards not indicated as on "hold" by pressing a draw or draw/deal button. New randomly selected cards from the residue of the fifty-two card deck are used to replace the discarded cards. After the player discards, certain final hands result in awards of money or credits. Posted pay tables determine the amount of player wins.
Manufacturers and casinos actively look for new and better versions of games such as video draw poker to maintain the interest of existing players and to introduce new players to exciting variations of the basic game. Some changes that have been tried include at least the following. Jokers and wild cards have been added to the card deck to enable higher hit frequencies for larger value hands to stimulate play. Some versions of video poker allow players to play double-or-nothing with all or a portion of awards after a winning hand. A "Second Chance" game, from Bally Manufacturing, allows the player to make another bet after the original round of card play has concluded. The player obtains one additional (sixth) card with a second chance to win.
Live house banked poker games, also termed pit poker games have encountered a significant revitalization at casinos. Part of the revival is the introduction of varieties of stud and draw poker games and progressive jackpots. Progressive jackpots are represented in the general casino gaming literature in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041; 5,377,973; 5,584,485; and 5,626,341 and specifically to games of Twenty-One in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,077; 5,364,105; and 5,577,731. The underlying theme in the progressive jackpot games is that separate bets are initially made in an underlying game and a side wager on the appearance in the wagering player's hand of a predetermined arrangement of cards. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,794,964 and 5,795,225 describes a method and apparatus for including a jackpot component as an additional feature in a live casino game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,744 describes a new poker game, specifically a poker game with a draw or card replacement step, in a video game where a specific card is "zapped" or eliminated and a replacement provided, even if it is the intent of the player to zap or replace more than a single card. Rather than committing all cards to replacement, a decision may be made on each card in the sequence of zap and replace. This may provide the player with an option of changing strategies as each replacement card is dealt.
To increase the excitement and entertainment of the player and to offer games to the player, side bet games have been developed, both for live gaming and for video gaming. In some situations, awards for the side bet games may be independent of the rank of the dealt hand in the primary game. A common feature in some poker games is the addition of a progressive jackpot, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,861,041; 5,377,973; 5,584,485; and 5,626,341 and specifically to games of Twenty-One in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,077; 5,364,105; and 5,577,731. These patents generally show that a progressive, and possibly much higher value jackpot, may be won by a player by making a separate and independent wager at the beginning of the primary game (before cards are dealt). This separate wager is won if predetermined arrangements of cards, such as certain poker hands of rated value (usually at least three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush and royal flush), are achieved in the play of the hand. The highest progressive jackpot value is usually won when the player obtains a royal flush, either with the cards in a specific order (e.g., A K Q J 10, also referred to as a "positional win") or in a random order (e.g., with the cards A K Q J 10 appearing in any arrangement or order). With the separate bet being placed, the jackpot or special award for the player achieving a rated (higher value) hand is paid in addition to awards won in the play of the primary game. This separate wager, however, is still won only when the player exhibits a hand with a relatively high poker value. A predetermined arrangement of cards which is independent of play in the underlying game could be, for example, a rank of a poker hand achieved in the play of a hand of Twenty-One, four aces in a Twenty-One game, or a Twenty-One point count total achieved in a poker hand. An example of a predetermined arrangement of cards which is dependent upon play of the underlying game could be, for example, specific ranks of poker hands (e.g., four-of-a-kind or straight flush) achieved during play of an underlying poker game.
Another type of gaming feature is shown in video poker with the side bet game of "Double Down." In this type of video poker or electronic poker, after a winning hand is achieved, a player may make a further wager of part or all of the award from the play of the primary game. This further wager may be made, for example, against an arrangement of five cards which appears identical to the back of five cards to be dealt in a five stud poker hand. If the further wager is made, the game is played as follows. Usually the first card (as counted from the left of the five cards whose backs only are displayed) is turned face-up after the wager is made, this card becoming the dealer's or the house's hand. The player may then select any single card from among the four cards which remain face-down, attempting to select a card having a higher face value than the dealer's card or the house's hand. If the card selected by the player exceeds the value of the dealer's card, the wager (an even money bet) is won by the player. Conversely, if the card selected by the player is of lower rank or value than the dealer's hand, the wager is lost. Ties are treated as non-decisions, and another wager based upon the original award from the primary game may be made or waived. This game may usually be played only when the player has achieved a winning hand and has an award which may be wagered in the side bet, or more properly termed in this game, a post game wager.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,973 describes a method of playing poker in which after a primary game (e.g., five card stud) is played on a video gaming machine, a second wager may be placed to enter into an additional game. In this additional game, another card is dealt from the deck of cards, and this another card is compared to the cards in the original and final hand. If the another card matches the value of one or more cards in the original final hand, all of the matched cards are changed in value to a wild card, and the hand is re-evaluated for the purpose of determining awards. The second wager is made on an additional poker game, based upon the cards used in the original poker game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,391 describes a blackjack side bet game method in which a separate bet is made that a hand will be attained with a value of blackjack, 21, 20, 19 or 18 from a preliminary hand of four cards. After the wager, the player accepts the four cards and assembles the best possible blackjack hand. If that hand matches the wager placed upon the value of the hand to be attained, there is a payout to the player.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,107 describes a method and apparatus for playing a wagering game in which there is a primary line of play of a game whose outcome is determined by a selection of randomly generated symbols. A side bet is placed against the appearance of a plurality of additional, preferably no-value symbols. A separate wager may be placed upon a chance occurrence of at least two of the additional symbols being selected during normal play of the initial wagering game. A card game may be used as the underlying game, whether live or in video gaming formats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,781 describes a method and apparatus for playing a poker type game in which wagers are made by at least one player as successive rounds of cards are dealt in the formation of a plurality of poker hands. Some of the wagers are made prior to the initially dealt card and possibly with each successive card.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,407 describes a method of playing a casino card game in which a wager is made that player selected cards are not going to be matched as cards from a separate deck are displayed. The players win if a predetermined number of `sufficient` cards are displayed without a match, and the house wins if there is a match within that sufficient number of displayed cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,393 describes a method of playing a card-based wagering game. An underlying card game with wagering is played, and a side bet game is also played. The side bet game is played by the player making an independent wager (a card wager as opposed to a game wager) on a range of possible cards, a particular card of any suit, any card of a particular suit, a particular card of a particular suit or any combination of the above. In the preferred embodiment, the wager is made on the appearance of a card within three separate ranges of value (e.g., cards of six and lower, cards of value 7, 8 and 9, and cards of value ten or higher. The card wager appears to be required prior to the beginning of any of the games.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,309 describes a card game, similar to baccarat, in which a side bet is also allowed. The side bet is based upon a wager that the dealer's hand and the player's hand will have the same, non-zero value at the end of play. The wager is described as being made before play of the hands has begun, that is, prior to the deal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,162 describes a method of playing a matching card game. Hands are dealt by randomly generated distributions of cards to players and to a dealer. More than one deck must be used in play, with an individual deck for the dealer or with multiple decks, the reasons becoming apparent with the play of the game. The dealer turns up his cards in sequence, and the players turn cards face down when the cards match. The player wins a wager if all of the player's cards are turned face down, and the house wins the wager if any of the cards remain face up. Poker hands above a specific value (e.g., above three-of-a-kind) are also awarded. The wager is made prior to the deal or exposure of cards in the hands. A single ante bet is placed at the beginning of the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,899 describes a method of playing a wagering game in which players select sets of winning numbers. Players place wagers, the dealer provides two cards face-up to the players, and then compares the value of the two cards with the selected sets of winning numbers, the dealer awarding a prize to the player whose winning numbers include the numeric sum of the face-up cards. If the two face-up cards are equal to two predetermined key cards, the dealer and players may implement a bonus playing procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,440 describes a "Double Poker" game in which a player is initially dealt two distinct poker hands after an initial wager. The play of the hand may include the player selecting only one of the poker hands to be played. The game may also include an additional game in which, where there is a first and second hand, the player is awarded a predetermined amount if one or more cards from the first hand (e.g., a five card stud hand) match one or more cards from the second hand (either in number, number and suit, and/or position). The matching of cards may also be associated with a progressive payout or progressive jackpot, particularly in a video gaming machine. The play of the game is based upon the initial wager in the primary game, and the wager must be made before both of the hands are dealt.
Each of these games provides interest and entertainment to the players, but it is desirable to be able to provide additional forms of entertainment and awards to players.